Many flock to Bali during Idul Fitri

Many flock to Bali during Idul Fitri

JAKARTA (JP): One question which Jakartans often ask during
the Idul Fitri holiday is "where has everyone gone"?

Apart from the obvious phenomenon of returning to their
hometowns, Bali might be another answer.

I.G. Bagus Damara, the caretaker of the famed Tanah Lot
temple, a popular tourist destination on the resort island, said
on Tuesday that some 10,500 people visited the temple each day
during the holiday season.

This number did not decline between the period of Dec. 25 and
Jan. 10, adding that the majority of visitors were Indonesians,
Antara reported.

He said this number was a significant increase over the 1,500
visitors per day the temple normally sees.

Bagus said the fact that Christmas, New Year's, Galungan and
Idul Fitri fell so close to each other this year likely accounted
for the increase in the number of visitors to this well-known
destination some 20 kilometers southwest of Denpasar.

Initially there were worries that tourist arrivals to Bali
would dip over the Christmas and Idul Fitri holidays because many
foreigners had canceled trips to the island due to fears over the
Y2K bug wreaking havoc on air travel.

However, the number of local tourists from major urban areas
like Jakarta vacationing on Bali more than made up for the
decline in the number of foreign tourists.